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Out of tune: BlackBerry parts company with Alicia Keys [Scotsman, The (Scotland)]

(Scotsman, The (Scotland) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Struggling smartphone maker Blackberry is to part ways with Alicia Keys at the end of this month, just a year after hiring the singer-songwriter as its "global creative director".The Canadian firm appointed her in January last year, when it launched its Blackberry 10 devices, which have failed to make inroads into a market dominated by Apple's iPhone and rivals using Google's Android operating system.A spokesman said: "BlackBerry and Alicia Keys have completed our year-long collaboration. We have enjoyed the opportunity to work with such a talented and passionate individual."The company abandoned a plan to sell itself to its biggest shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings, and last month revealed that stock write-downs and other charges had pushed it to a net loss of dollars 4.4 billion (GBP2.7bn).Under the leadership of interim chief executive John Chen BlackBerry is focussing on corporate and government customers.